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PEST OF THE QUARTER -- Carpenter Ants
What You Should Tell Your Customers About
Carpenter Ants
e’ve collected some ants that we will see in structures but
not all workers are large. They come in a
information that you can use range of sizes from 1/8 up to ½ inch long.
to explain to your customers
Wabout carpenter ants.
Carpenter ants prefer to nest in
Though carpenter ants don’t eat wood, softwoods or hardwoods that have been
they can do a lot of damage by chewing softened by decay. Nests are most likely
tunnels and galleries in wood. For this to be located in wood that has been damp
reason, you can sometimes tell if you have (moisture level of 20% or higher) because
carpenter ants by the sawdust (frass) they of condensation, plumbing or roof leaks,
kick out of their tunnels. or wood that repeatedly gets wet such as
windowsills. High-risk sites are laundry
A carpenter ant colony can have up to rooms, around dishwashers, around
3,000 workers and you may have little or skylights, garage door framing, chimney
no warning signs of their presence in your flashing, voids behind sinks, under shower
home. They can live off food sources that or floor drains or under bathtubs, and
exist outside your home. under insulation in cellars and attics.
If you see a single ant crawling around These measures will help prevent
your home, it may be your only sign of carpenter ants.
a carpenter ant infestation but there are • Fix any indoor plumbing leaks
other signs: • Eliminate condensation and improve
• Many foraging ants inside ventilation in damp areas
• Flying or crawling winged ants • Check for rotting wood around the
roofline or foundation
• Sawdust-like “dump piles”
• Remove boards, stakes, etc. from
• Hollow-sounding or mushy wood crawlspaces or under porches
• Make sure downspouts drain away
When a carpenter ant colony matures, from the foundation
it will begin to produce winged male and • Clean out clogged roof gutters
female alates. These winged ants will • Adjust sprinklers so they don’t
begin to appear on window panes inside constantly soak parts of the house
your home. When this happens, two things • Trim tree branches that carpenter
are obvious. First, you have a mature ants can use to reach the house
colony inside the walls of your home. • Move firewood or lumber piles away
Second, that colony is about to make from the house
more colonies. • Remove stumps or branches on the
ground near the house
• Replace rotting landscape timbers
Carpenter ant workers are the largest
or planter box borders
IPMA Connection • 2nd Quarter, 2019 Page 9
